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Bouguereau:  “The  Consoling  Virgin” 


REPRODUCTIONS  OF  MASTERPIECES 

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THt  1 PAUL  GETTY  MUSEUM  LIBRARY 


MASTERS  IN  AMT  PLATE  I 


PHOTOGRAPH  BY  BRAUN,  CLEMENT  &.  CIE 

[ 381  ] 


BOUGUEEEAU 

THE  VIHGIN  OF  CONSOLATION 
GALLEHV,  PA  HIS 


LUX  EM BOUMG 


MASTERS  IX  ART  PRATE  II 


PHOTOGRAPH  BY  BRAUN,  CLEMENT  & CIE 

[ 3831 


BOUO  IT  ERE  A U 
INNOCENCE 
PR  I V ATE  CORRECTION 


HOUr»lTEHEAU 


MASTERS  IX  ART  PLATE  III 

PHOTOGRAPH  BY  BRAUN,  CLEMENT  & CIE 

[305] 


G I RL  WITH  CHERRIES 
PH  I V ATE  COLLECT  ION 


MASTERS  IX  AKT  PLATE  IV 

BY  BRAUN,  CLEMENT  & ClE 

[ 387  j 


POUGUEP EA U 

THE  HOLY  WOMEi\  AT  THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST 
A.NTWEKP  MUSEUM 


PHOTOGRAPH 


V 


MASTERS  I N ART  PLATE  V 

BY  BRAUN,  CLEMENT  & CIE 

L 889  ] 


R(  )lT( ; UERFiA  U 


PHOTOGRAPH 


THE  MADONNA  WITH  ANGELS 
PR  I V A T E GOLLFi  V TION 


I.IASTEHS  IX  Ain’  PLATE  VI 

PHOTOGRAPH  BY  BRAUN,  CLEMENT  A.  CIE 

[ 301  ] 


HOUGUEHEAU 
CUPID  I.YrNO  IX  WAIT 
PHI  V A T E ( '( ILL  EC  71'  I OX 


MASTERS  IX  APT  PLATE  VIE 

PHOTOGRAPH  BY  BRAUN,  CLEMENT  & CIE 

[ 393  ) 


BOUGUKHEAU 
THE  SIIEPIIKHDESS 
PRIVATE  COLLECTION 


I 


MASTERS  IN  ART  PRATE  VIII 


BOUGUER EA U 
BROTHER  AM)  SISTER 
METROPOLITAN  MUSEUM,  NEW  YORK 


KHOTOGRA  PH  BY  CHARLES  BALLIARD 

.39.",  ] 


MASTERS  IN  ART  1’LATK  IX 

FHOTOGRAPH  BY  BRAUN,  CLEMENT  « TIE 

[ 397  ] 


HOIKUT  EREAU 
SON (7 S (IF  SPRING 
PR  I V A T E < O ELECT  I O N 


LUXEMBOURG  GALLERY, 


POJKTKAIT  OP  BOUGUEHEAU  BY  HIMSELF  AKTWEEJ  MUSEUM 

This  portrait  of  Bouguereau  was  painted  by  the  artist  himself  in  1895.  It  is  not 
only  a speaking  likeness  of  him  at  that  age,  but  it  is  a line  example  of  his  ability  as 
a portrait-painter.  Vigorous,  life-like,  full  of  character,  it  may  well  rank  as  one  of 
his  very  best  works.  “It  is  a delicate  but  manly  head,”  writes  Mr.  Beckwith, 
“and  in  its  well-rounded  proportions  it  shows  a thoroughly  balanced  and  practical, 
though  poetic,  brain.” 


[ 400  ] 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


William  JSoutjummt 

BORN  1825:  DIED  19  05 
FRENCH  SCHOOL 

ADOLPHE  WILLIAM  BOUGUEREAU  (pronounced  Boo-gl  ter-o)  was 
il  born  in  the  old  Protestant  city  of  La  Rochelle,  France,  on  November  30, 
1825.  His  father  was  a wine-merchant  of  thattown,  butwhen  Bouguereau  was 
still  a small  boy  the  family  moved  to  St.  Martin-de-Re.  Even  while  at  his 
primary  school  he  began  to  be  possessed  with  that  need  for  pictorial  expression 
which  never  after  left  him.  His  text-books  were  filled  from  cover  to  cover  with 
drawings  of  scenery,  sailors,  peasants,  all  of  which  were  viewed  with  admiring 
eyes  by  his  comrades.  Already,  too,  his  childish  mind  felt  the  poetry  that 
brooded  in  that  stern  old  town  with  its  fierce  architecture  so  full  of  memories 
of  the  ancient  times.  From  then  began  the  love  for  his  native  city  which  only 
changed  to  grow  deeper  and  more  profound. 

When  William  grew  large  enough  his  father  sent  him  to  learn  the  rudiments 
of  Latin  of  his  uncle,  the  priest  at  Montagne-sur-Gironde.  The  years  during 
which  the  boy  was  with  this  guardian-teacher  were  a period  of  great  and  tran- 
quil growth,  the  foundation  of  his  future  intellectual  and  artistic  life.  The 
book  lessons  his  uncle  supplemented  with  out-of-door  instruction,  explaining 
the  forces  of  nature  and  showing  him  the  archaeological  marvels  of  the  country 
about.  And  all  the  time  the  love  of  the  beautiful  in  nature  grew  daily  stronger 
in  the  heart  of  the  nephew.  Alone,  often  for  hours,  he  used  to  watch  entranced 
the  lights  and  shades  and  golden  colors  of  the  dying  day  as  the  sun  moved 
over  the  Gironde.  Often  he  would  rise  at  daybreak  out  of  pure  joy  of  the 
glowing  hours  of  sunrise.  Meanwhile  the  books  were  not  neglected,  and  of 
them  all  it  is  curious  to  note  that  the  favorites  of  the  future  painter  of  myth  and 
religion  were  the  Lives  of  the  Saints,  the  Bible,  and  the  Dictionary  of  Fables! 
A rather  strange  assortment,  but  in  them  can  be  found  both  the  double  source 
of  Bouguereau’s  inspiration  and  his  lifelong  attachment  to  the  traditions. 

As  a mere  boy  the  antique  delighted  him.  He  found  an  infinite  charm  in 
the  melodious  accents  of  Virgil  and  in  the  elegant  preciosity  of  Ovid.  What  a 
change  when  he  was  forced  to  leave  all  this  to  go  to  Bordeaux  to  become  clerk 
for  his  father,  who  had  established  himself  there  in  the  heat  of  the  melancholy 
rue  Neuve  as  merchant  of  olive  oil!  When  he  could  find  the  minutes  he  cov- 
ered boxes  and  bundles  with  drawings  of  all  sorts,  and  finally  some  of  the  cus- 

[401] 


24 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


tomers  and  friends  of  his  father  became  greatly  interested  in  the  blond  youth 
of  sixteen  who,  perched  all  day  on  the  high  stool  in  the  counting-house,  only 
lef t the  ,pen  for  the  pencil.  At  length  his  father  consented  to  allow  him  to  en- 
ter the  Ecole  des  Reaux-Arts  of  Bordeaux — with  the  express  condition  that 
he  was  not  to  become  a painter,  for  that  was  a trade  which  did  not  pay!  From 
that  day  the  laborious  life  of  young  William  was  illuminated  by  the  hours 
given  to  his  beloved  art.  Each  morning  from  six  to  eight  o’clock  he  spent  in 
the  art  school,  from  which  he  hurried  back  to  devote  the  rest  of  the  day  to  the 
accounts  in  the  ledger.  In  the  evening,  the  moment  he  left  the  family  table, 
he  shut  himself  in  his  room,  and  late  into  the  night  by  the  light  of  candle-ends 
saved  from  shop  or  house  he  would  draw  and  draw — -anything  he  saw  or 
could  remember.  To  get  the  necessary  crayons,  colors,  and  materials  he 
painted  the  colored  designs  to  be  reproduced  on  the  covers  of  prune  or  raisin 
boxes.  Nothing  was  too  insignificant  or  common  so  long  as  it  brought  the 
future  nearer  when  he  dreamed  of  being  a prince  of  painters! 

Soon,  too,  the  future  began  to  open  out  most  alluringly.  After  two  years  at 
the  Ecole  des  Beaux-Arts,  he  won  the  first  prize  for  painting  the  figure.  This 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  his  competitors  were  all-day  students,  while  he  was 
only  in  the  studio  for  two  hours  each  morning.  The  success  so  intoxicated 
him  that  he  straightway  informed  his  father  that  the  career  of  a merchant  of 
oil  “gave  no  chance  for  life,”  and  begged  permission  to  take  up  that  of  painter. 
This  Bouguereau  the  elder  finally  somewhat  reluctantly  yielded,  saying,  “Do 
as  you  will,  my  boy,  but  at  your  own  risk.  You  know  I cannot  help  you.” 

But  if  his  father  could  not  help  him,  his  mother  could  and  did.  She  was 
vastly  proud  of  the  artistic  talent  of  her  son,  and  many  were  the  francs  her 
beautiful  embroideries  earned  toward  the  education  of  the  young  student. 
The  good  cure  of  Montagne-sur-Gironde  also  did  his  best  to  aid  his  nephew. 
Ele  went  about  the  country  and  procured  many  orders  for  portraits  at  fifteen 
francs  the  head! 

With  these  aids,  William  Bouguereau  was  able  at  length  to  realize  his  long 
cherished  project:  to  go  to  Paris!  He  arrived  there  in  March,  1846,  and  at 
once  entered  the  studio  of  Picot,  that  old  master  whose  works  and  whose  in- 
struction carried  the  imprint  of  the  most  elevated  traditions.  Among  his  fel- 
low-students were  Lenepveu,  Cabanel,  Henner,  Gustave  Moreau.  This  new 
life  devoted  entirely  to  art  gave  to  the  one  just  embarked  upon  it  the  most  in- 
tense joy  which  he  had  known,  and  filled  him  with  overflowing  enthusiasm. 
He  spent  not  more  than  twenty  sous  a day,  eating  hardly  anything  but  bread 
and  cheese,  and  often  going  without  any  dinner.  What  did  it  matter  to  him! 
He  had  voluntarily  taken  to  heart  the  adage  “Who  paints,  dines,”  and  the  only 
necessities  of  life  for  him  were  to  paint,  to  draw,  to  study  anatomy,  natural 
history,  perspective.  Ah!  how  he  took  revenge  on  the  gloomy  hours  in  the 
wine-scented  shipping-office! 

He  worked  even  harder,  if  that  were  possible,  after  he  entered  the  Ecole  des 
Beaux-Arts  of  Paris,  in  that  same  year,  1846.  In  the  evening,  when  his  hand 
was  too  tired  to  hold  the  pencil,  he  studied  history,  mythology,  architecture. 
His  very  distractions  were  taken  to  further  his  art.  If  he  went  to  the  Theatre- 

[402] 


BOUGUEREAU 


25 


Fran^ais  it  was  above  all  to  study  the  beautiful  poses  of  Rachel  and  Ristori. 
In  the  street,  the  promenaders,  the  groups  of  people,  the  peasants,  all  were  to 
him  texts  for  his  artistic  eye  to  learn  by  heart  till  they  became  the  very  maxims 
of  his  art.  These  maxims,  fruit  of  patient  reflection  and  a clear  mind,  he  con- 
signed to  a diary  which  he  then  began  to  write.  What  a breviary  of  will  and 
of  work  is  this  book,  where  on  each  page  is  felt  the  most  insistent,  the  most 
methodical,  the  most  constant,  effort  towards  the  ideal  and  beauty!  In  these 
pages  can  be  perceived  the  influence  of  the  painters  of  the  classic  school  upon 
the  young  student, — that  of  Ingres,  Ary  Scheffer,  and  above  all  of  Hippolyte 
Flandrin,  for  whom  he  had  an  especial  admiration.  Here  is  found,  too,  that 
phrase  which  expresses  so  well  all  the  life  of  the  master,  and  which  he  seems 
to  have  taken  for  motto : “All  the  moments  of  life  should  be  employed  in  study. 
Let  us  always  have  in  mind  this  great  truth.’’ 

The  only  time  when  he  neglected  his  favorite  maxim  was  when  he  went  to 
fight,  in  those  dreadful  June  days  of  1848,  by  the  side  of  his  friend  Pils.  Once 
order  was  restored  he  returned  to  the  studio  with  more  ardor  than  ever.  This 
passionate  zeal  obtained  its  reward.  The  young  Rochellaise  tried  twice  for  the 
Prix  de  Rome,  in  1848  and  in  1850.  As  there  had  been  no  first  prize  bestowed 
in  1848,  it  was  given  in  1850  to  William  Bouguereau,  who  in  a very  frenzy  of 
delight  departed  for  the  Villa  Medici,  where  the  French  school  of  painting  was 
established  at  Rome.  With  him  went  his  friend  Paul  Baudry,  winner  of  the 
first  prize  of  1850,  sharer  of  his  dreams  and  his  enthusiastic  projects  for  study. 

Rome  enchanted  Bouguereau,  but  it  was  his  journey  to  Tuscany  and  Um- 
bria which  remained  with  him  as  the  most  vibrant  of  memories.  One  city, 
fairly  perfumed  with  mystic  art  and  holy  traditions,  particularly  exerted  upon 
him  an  unquenchable  fascination.  That  was  Assisi.  He  stayed  there  for 
months  in  the  home  of  an  old  soldier  of  the  Empire  who  had  for  Napoleon  that 
unbounded  adoration  shared  by  all  the  Great  Army.  The  ardent  young 
French  artist  was  delighted  to  hear  from  the  mouth  of  the  Italian  the  marvel- 
ous tales  of  the  glories  of  the  armies  of  France. 

All  day  Bouguereau  spent  in  the  convent,  the  church,  and  the  crypt  of  St. 
Francis,  copying  the  entire  decoration  of  the  cupola  where  Giotto  allegorized 
the  vows  of  the  Franciscan  Order,  or  reproducing  with  equal  love  the  severe 
fervor  of  Guido  of  Siena,  of  Giunto  of  Pisa,  of  Cimabue.  At  the  same  time  he 
was  carried  away  by  the  penetrating  charm  of  that  sweet  and  severe  nature 
of  Umbria  where  the  vine  and  the  olive  are  married  to  the  oak  and  the  pine. 
Afterwards  he  visited  Padua  and  Ravenna.  In  this  latter  city  he  copied  a part 
of  the  celebrated  Byzantine  frescos  of  St.  Vitalis.  Their  inspiration  is  seen 
in  later  years  in  his  own  church  decorations.  He  also  went  to  Venice,  but  he 
did  not  dream  of  copying  Titian,  Veronese,  or  Tintoretto.  It  was  not  till  long 
afterwards  that  he  began  to  search  for  the  secret  of  their  thrilling  color.  At 
that  time  of  ardent  youth  the  pursuit  of  the  ideal,  and  the  beauty  of  form,  cap- 
tivated his  mind  more  completely  than  the  magic  of  color.  In  Pompeii  once 
more  he  found  beautiful  lines  and  harmonious  attitudes.  As  the  painter  of  re- 
ligion had  been  ravished  by  the  pure  luster  of  the  Primitives,  so  the  lover  of 
the  smiling  and  ever  young  antique  recognized  the  country  ot  his  dreams  in 

[403] 


26 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


that  city  sprung  as  it  were  out  of  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  Mars  and  Venus, 
Diana  and  Endymion,  the  Muses,  the  Seasons,  the  Hours, — all  lived  before 
his  eyes.  And  in  the  future  he  often  traced  them  upon  the  walls  and  the  ceil- 
ings of  his  home.  They  were  so  true,  so  exact,  that  it  was  no  wonder  M.  Ed- 
mond About,  the  sculptor,  declared  later  to  his  pupils,  “If  you  do  not  know 
Pompeii,  go  see  it  in  the  studio  of  M.  Bouguereau.” 

But  it  was  soon  necessary  to  leave  all  that.  In  1854  the  pensioner  of  the  Villa 
Medici  returned  to  Paris  and  exhibited  his  ‘Triumph  of  Martyrdom  ’ (plate  x). 
This  picture  was  the  first  important  work  of  a fecund  and  noble  career  which 
Bouguereau  followed  for  more  than  fifty  years,  years  which  saw  the  most 
striking  successes,  the  most  glorious  consecrations,  and  which  are  scarcely  less 
rich  in  works  than  in  days.  For  more  than  half  a century  Bouguereau  never 
failed  to  exhibit  at  every  Salon  religious,  genre,  or  mythologic  pictures  and 
portraits.  At  the  same  time  he  executed  a considerable  amount  of  mural  dec- 
oration for  houses,  theaters,  and  churches. 

His  first  work  in  this  line  was  in  his  own  part  of  France.  For  Mme.  Mou- 
lun’s  villa  at  Angoulins  near  La  Rochelle  he  painted  four  panels  representing 
the  Seasons.  Other  important  labors  were  the  decorations  for  the  Bartholoni 
and  Pereire  residences  in  Paris,  which  he  finished  during  the  years  immediately 
following  his  return  from  Italy.  On  these  walls,  on  the  ceilings,  along  the 
friezes,  a whole  world  of  mythology  was  displayed  in  all  its  beautiful  nudity, 
its  airy  play  of  graceful  attitudes.  At  the  Salon  of  1869  Bouguereau  showed 
his  ‘Apollo  and  the  Muses,’  painted  for  the  ceiling  of  the  concert  hall  of  the 
Grand  Theater  of  Bordeaux.  Again  the  scene  was  mythologic,  and  it  was 
filled  with  figures  both  nude  and  draped. 

While  doing  these  secular  works  he  finished  a series  of  decorative  paintings 
in  several  churches.  In  the  beginning  of  his  career  religious  art  had  an  irre- 
sistible attraction  for  him.  The  influence  of  his  uncle  had  developed  his  nat- 
ural disposition  towards  belief,  a disposition  very  generally  met  with  among 
painters  of  that  generation.  “Believe  and  you  will  be  a great  painter,”  he  has 
written.  And  he  made  a vow  to  himself  to  paint  religious  pictures  like  those 
which  he  admired  so  intensely  by  Flandrin  in  St.  Germain-des-Pres.  He  kept 
his  vow.  In  1859  he  was  given  the  decoration  of  the  chapel  of  St.  Louis  at  Ste. 
Clotilde.  Here,  however,  he  had  to  depict  historical  scenes  which  did  not  in- 
spire him  and  which  he  executed  with  coldness.  He  did  not  care  for  history. 
He  did  not  comprehend  it,  and  the  laws  of  esthetics  and  precision  which  had 
to  be  followed  only  caused  him  pain.  He  is  seen  much  more  at  his  ease  in  the 
chapels  of  St.  Peter  and  Paul  and  St.  John  the  Baptist  in  the  church  of  St. 
Augustine.  His  work  there  brings  memories  of  the  mosaics  at  Ravenna.  At 
St.  Vincent-de-Paul  Bouguereau  glorified  the  Virgin,  whom  he  shows  grave 
and  sad,  surrounded  by  smiling  angels.  She  is  again  portrayed  in  her  joys, 
her  sadness,  and  in  her  glory  in  the  cathedral  of  La  Rochelle.  This  last  dec- 
oration is  a circular  ceiling  holding  the  ‘Assumption,’  and,  within  six  arches, 
the  ‘Annunciation,’  the  ‘Visitation,’  the  ‘Nativity,’  the  ‘Flight  into  Egypt,’ 
the  ‘Swooning  of  the  Madonna,’  and  the  ‘Pieta.’ 

Frequently  Bouguereau  left  the  land  of  the  fabulous  for  the  domain  of  con- 

[404] 


BOUQUEREAU 


27 


temporary  life — a domain  less  propitious  for  pure  lines.  In  1857,  for  instance, 
under  orders  of  the  minister  of  public  instruction,  he  painted  an  enormous 
canvas  representing  the  ‘Visit  of  Napoleon  to  the  Flooded  Inhabitants  of  Tar- 
ascon.’  In  1869  he  brought  back  from  a trip  in  Brittany  numbers  of  pleasing 
pictures,  such  as  ‘Young  Girls  ol  Fouesant  returning  from  a Walk’  and  ‘The 
Vow  of  St.  Anne  of  Auray.’  Among  the  pictures  inspired  by  modern  life,  ‘All 
Soul’s  Day’  and  the  ‘Poor  Family’  are  in  a vein  seldom  explored  by  the 
painter.  He  loved  better  to  paint,  and  he  painted  better,  smiles  than  tears. 
He  also  painted  a great  number  ot  ‘Little  Beggars,’  ‘Little  Fishermaidens,’ 
‘ Little  Bohemians,’  etc.  These  studies  of  small  girls  he  made  almost  exclu- 
sively at  La  Rochelle,  his  models  taken  from  the  children  of  the  neighborhood. 
Three  tiny  sisters  with  bright  eyes,  complexions  burned  by  the  sea-breezes, 
were  the  special  clientele  attached  to  the  master’s  studio.  Perhaps  his  most 
successful  worlTof  all  was  portraiture,  and  at  almost  every  Salon  he  exhibited 
one  or  more  portraits  that  won  both  recognition  and  praise. 

This  enormous  production,  this  never-ending  labor,  almost  entirely  filled 
the  life  of  Bouguereau.  Few  were  the  hours  which  were  not  wholly  given  to 
art.  In  the  siege  of  Paris  in  1870,  however,  he  once  more  left  his  brush  for  the 
bayonet.  Though  exempt  from  all  active  service  by  his  age  and  because  of 
having  been  “pensioner”  of  the  Academy  of  France  in  Rome,  he  joined  the 
National  Guard,  as  he  had  in  1848.  He  belonged  to  the  batalhon  commanded 
by  Bergeret,  the  future  general  of  the  Commune,  and  with  him  as  comrades 
in  arms  were  the  two  brothers  Flourens.  From  beginning  to  end  he  did  his 
duty  with  patriotic  punctuality,  stoically  braving  the  physical  and  moral  suffer- 
ings, upheld  by  a vigorous  temperament  and  by  the  lively  hope  that  patriotism 
would  save  Paris.  The  Franco-German  war  over,  he  again  resumed  his  brush. 
The  impressions  of  that  unhappy  time  Bouguereau  never  forgot.  His  national 
pride  would  not  let  him  forget,  and  he  always  dreamed  of  some  triumphant 
future  revenge.  One  day  he  heard  with  great  joy  of  a chance  offered  to  France 
to  conquer  her  conqueror — a victory  all  of  peace,  delivered  courteously  in  the 
close  field  of  art.  It  was  fifteen  years  later.  One  well  remembers  the  commo- 
tion excited  by  the  visit  of  the  Empress-Dowager  of  Germany  to  Paris  tor  the 
purpose  of  asking  the  painters  of  France  to  take  part  in  the  Exposition  of  Fine 
Arts  at  Berlin.  Bouguereau,  among  the  first  to  be  solicited,  promised  to  ex- 
hibit. But  a strong  contrary  sentiment,  undoubtedly  respectable  but  seemingly 
illogical  and  unconsidered,  dominated  press,  public,  and  the  majority  of  the 
artistic  world.  Boucmereau  held  firm.  “If  I have  to  <ro  to  Berlin  alone,”  he 
wrote,  “I  shall  go.  I consider  it  a patriotic  duty  to  conquer  the  German 
painters  in  the  very  capital  of  the  German  Empire.” 

The  other  events  of  his  life  were  but  concerned  with  expositions,  with  med- 
als, with  distinctions.  As  early  as  1855  he  won  a second-class  medal  at  the 
Salon;  in  1857  the  first  was  bestowed  upon  him.  He  was  made  Chevalier  of 
the  Order  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  in  1859.  In  1876  he  was  raised  to  the  grade 
of  Officer,  and  to  that  of  Commander  in  1885.  The  honor  which  he  coveted 
most  — to  be  member  of  the  Institute  of  France — was  accorded  him  in  1876. 
From  1883  he  was  president  of  the  ancient  Society  of  Painters,  Sculptors,  Ar- 

[ 405  ] 


28 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


chitects,  and  Engravers,  and  medals  and  honorable  mentions  were  showered 
upon  him  in  the  Salons  of  Paris  and  in  the  exhibitions  of  other  countries. 

As  a man  Bouguereau  was  generally  liked,  esteemed,  and  admired.  His  re- 
lations with  his  pupils  were  always  most  cordial.  For  them  as  for  his  friends 
he  was  the  “ Patron,”  the  Master,  as  simple  and  frank  of  heart  as  of  appear- 
ance. He  never  discouraged  any  of  them,  and  to  all  his  maxim  was  the  same: 
“Work!” 

And  why  should  he  not  have  advised  work,  he  who,  at  eighty,  after  an  ex- 
istence so  prodigiously  rich  in  works,  worked  still  ten  hours  a day  ? When  he 
was  in  Paris  in  his  home  on  the  rue  Notre  Dame  des  Champs,  or  at  La  Ro- 
chelle in  the  old  mansion  of  the  eighteenth  century  which  he  occupied,  all  his 
time  was  spent  in  his  studio,  in  the  absorbing  joy  of  creation.  He  was  able  to 
say  as  said  Poussin,  that  painting  to  him  was  delectation.  “When  the  labor  of 
the  day  ceases  for  lack  of  day,”  he  declared  to  a friend,  “ I long  for  the  arrival 
of  to-morrow.”  Is  there  a more  beautiful  word  of  painter  ? During  his  months 
at  La  Rochelle  he  left  his  brush  only  for  his  two  daily  walks  on  the  seashore, 
the  one  in  the  morning,  the  other  at  the  hour  when  the  sun  sinks  behind  the 
islands.  Those  walks  were  as  regular,  as  unchanging,  as  the  famous  walks  of 
Kant  at  Konigsberg. 

Bouguereau’s  first  wife  was  a French  woman,  who  died  early  in  their  mar- 
ried life.  In  1896  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Gardner,  of  Exeter,  New  Hamp- 
shire, a painter  of  recognized  ability  who  had  been  one  of  his  pupils  in  the 
Julian  art  schools.  It  was  due  to  Bouguereau’s  efforts,  himself  influenced 
thereto  by  his  American  fiancee,  that  both  the  Julian  studios  and  the  Ecole  des 
Beaux-Arts  broke  their  hitherto  cast-iron  regulations  and  admitted  women  as 
students  to  their  classes. 

Bouguereau  died  on  August  19,  1905,  at  his  home  in  La  Rochelle,  after  so 
short  an  illness  that  it  may  be  said  of  him  as  of  the  great  masters  of  the  Renais- 
sance,— he  died  with  the  brush  still  in  his  hand.  — taken  principally  from 
THE  FRENCH  BY  LOUIS  SONOLET 


Cije  9ht  of  Eougurrcau 

LOUIS  SONOLET  ‘REVUE  DES  CHAR  F,  NTES’1905 

TO  those  who  would  analyze  the  art  of  Bouguereau,  one  remark  must  first 
be  made:  that  art  is  essentially  and  almost  exclusively  plastic.  For  him 
form  is  the  supreme  object  of  art.  . . . For  him  a picture  is  but  a theme  of 
lines  and  colors.  So  true  is  this  that  he  is  often  embarrassed  to  find  titles  for 
his  canvases.  One  day  he  surprised  an  adorable  pose  in  a model  just  leaning 
over  to  rest  from  her  allotted  hour  before  the  class.  “Stay  as  you  are,’  he 
cried.  And  from  that  came  the  graceful  study  of  a young  girl  which  he  called 
‘ Biblis. ’ She  could  have  been  equally  well  named  Arethusa  or  Calypso.  The 

[406] 


BOUGUEREAU 


29 


trained  eye  of  the  artist  had  at  once  seen  this  happy  accidental  posture.  He 
always  sees  every  such  accident,  for,  trained  by  nature  as  well  as  by  method- 
ical education,  he  knows  what  to  look  for,  what  to  discover.  Always  intent 
upon  nature,  his  eye  is  interested  in  everything  it  sees,  and  retains  all  that  is 
suggested  in  harmonious  forms.  . . . He  has  even  succeeded  in  evoking  hu- 
man beauty  from  the  phenomenon  of  the  world  of  inanimate  nature.  One 
morning,  for  example,  while  in  a train  crossing  the  Beauce,  he  noticed  the  soft 
vapors  which,  rising  above  the  fields,  were  all  tinted  with  the  rose  of  dawn. 
Light  breezes  gently  wafted  them  upwards,  and  the  imagination  of  the  painter 
soon  discovered  feminine  forms  in  the  melting  misty  clouds.  That  evening  he 
made  a rapid  sketch  of  his  morning  vision.  It  was  the  charming  picture  after- 
wards finished  and  called  ‘Nymphs  of  the  Mountain.’ 

This  plastic  beauty  from  which  Bouguereau  draws  his  inspiration  he  de- 
picts as  it  should  be  depicted:  in  a state  of  repose.  And  indeed,  harmony  of  fig- 
ure and  pure  serenity  of  face  cannot  be  conceived  in  action.  In  this  respect 
the  French  master  agrees  with  the  English  Preraphaelites  and  with  the  es- 
thetic theories  of  Ruskin.  With  them  he  can  repeat  the  words  of  Baudelaire: 
“I  hate  movement  which  displaces  lines.”  Like  a Greek  religious  sculptor 
Bouguereau  caresses  these  lines.  He  chisels  them  with  unceasing  patience, 
with  that  brush  of  his  which  is  so  knowing,  so  sure,  and  above  all  so  search- 
ing. He  will  prepare  for  a picture,  perhaps,  twenty  sketches,  but  even  in  the 
first  hasty  study  his  drawing  is  perfect.  Then  he  commences  to  model,  finely, 
plainly,  shading  with  simple  tones  full  of  infinite  delicacy.  . . . He  spreads 
out  the  paint  somewhat  thinly,  keeping  his  surface  always  smooth,  in  a me- 
thodical and  restrained  fusion  of  white  flesh  tones  with  the  luster  of  enamel. 
There  is  little  of  depth  or  relief  in  this  smooth,  polished,  even  painting,  in 
which  the  excess  ve  cleanness  sometimes  gives  the  effect  of  the  glistening  sur- 
face of  porcelain.  The  tonality  is  uniform.  Bouguereau  has  not  been  haunted 
by  the  mysteries  of  light  and  shade,  and,  in  his  love  of  clearness  of  atmosphere 
and  light  colors,  he  has  almost  never  directed  his  attention  to  the  rich  power 
of  chiaroscuro.  His  light  is  brilliant  and  gay.  His  color,  bright  and  sweet,  vi- 
brates agreeably,  but  it  is  impersonal,  with  neither  deep  warmth  nor  great  res- 
onance. As  to  his  composition,  it  is  always  skilful,  direct,  ordered,  and,  be- 
yond all,  simple.  The  detail  is  always  kept  in  proper  subordination  to  the 
ensemble.  All  breathes  of  proportion,  of  tact,  of  knowledge,  of  taste,  with  the 
just  equilibrium  between  the  effect  and  the  means.  They  are  qualities  emi- 
nently French. 

Two  things,  alas!  hurt  that  edifice  of  harmonious  but  cold  lines,  where 
knowledge  seems  to  check  the  springs  of  inspiration.  These  are  originality 
and  life.  Prisoner  and  victim  of  the  canonical  rules  of  his  youth,  Bouguereau 
is  part  of  a conventional  ideal,  already  overworn,  and  which  he  himself  has 
repeated  too  often — to  the  detriment  of  the  natural  and  the  true.  Patient  ob- 
server of  nature,  he  perceives  her  as  she  is,  but,  as  has  been  said,  he  is  ever 
forced  to  portray  her  as  she  is  not.  Moreover,  his  rather  shallow  intuitions 
have  never  prompted  him  to  find  a more  living  mode  of  expression.  In  their 
eternal  attitudes  of  repose,  his  personages  ought  all  the  more  to  express  that 

[ 4 0 7 ] 


30 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


inner  life,  that  which  is  the  expression  of  thought,  in  the  absence  o movement; 
they  are  too  often  unprovided  with  this.  Their  heads  are  without  type  and  are 
painted  after  an  artificial  standard  of  beauty,  — a congealed  model  of  the 
schools.  No  deep  sentiment  distinguishes  their  expressions,  their  gestures,  or 
their  groups.  But  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  their  author  created  them  in 
the  ardent  joy  of  work,  in  the  passionate  love  of  the  beautiful,  and  that  he  has 
expressed  them  in  the  most  sure,  the  most  serene,  the  most  pure  of  plastic 
language.  In  short,  one  can  say  of  him  that  he  has  more  knowledge  than  rich- 
ness of  nature,  more  method  and  experience  than  temperament  and  inspira- 
tion. But  he  has  always  upheld  the  most  elevated  ideals  of  art,  his  instruction 
has  always  been  of  the  highest — instruction  at  times  too  difficult  for  himself 
to  follow. 

Nevertheless,  the  innumerable  criticisms  which  have  been  showered  upon 
him  have  often  had  to  do  merely  with  his  style,  and  more  often  still  with  his 
subject.  They  have  indicated  unending  grudge  against  him  for  his  impeccable 
correctness,  his  laborious  perfection,  his  experience  which  is  never  at  fault. 
The  critics  have  grown  tired  of  hearing  him  extolled  for  his  profound  knowl- 
edge of  the  method  of  painting,  just  as  the  Athenians  were  wearied  to  hear 
Aristides  forever  called  “The  Just.”  Many  revolutionists  cannot  pardon  him 
for  his  attachment  to  the  traditions.  But,  guardian  of  the  Palladium  of  Art 
against  pernicious  tendencies,  teacher  of  solid  acquirements  too  rare  nowa- 
days, the  master  who  is  so  warmly  enamoured  of  the  ideal  has  pursued  it  not 
unsuccessfully  in  a large  number  of  works  which  are  a great  honor  to  the 
French  school.  Goethe  said,  “Art  — it  is  the  simple  and  the  sane.”  Can  that 
definition  be  denied  to  the  talent  of  Bouguereau,  so  nobly  simple  in  his  meth- 
ods, so  frankly  sane  in  his  high  moral  conception  of  art  ? — from  the  french 

R . MENARD  ‘PORTFOLIO’  1875 

TO  be  inclined  to  paint  pretty  faces  is  surely  not  a grave  defect,  and  yet 
the  often  excessive  severity  of  French  criticism  towards  M.  Bouguereau 
bears  almost  in  every  case  upon  the  prettiness  of  his  faces  or  the  rather  con- 
ventional cleanliness  of  his  execution.  We  admit  that  a little  more  frankness  in 
the  touch  would  give  to  his  painting  a reality  which  sometimes  is  wanting. 
Rusticity  is  not  with  this  painter  an  instinctive  sentiment,  and  if  he  paints  a 
patched  petticoat  he  yet  suggests  an  exquisitely  clean  figure;  the  naked  feet  he 
gives  to  his  peasant-women  seem  to  he  made  rather  for  elegant  boots  than  for 
rude  sabots;  and  in  a word,  it  is  as  if  the  princesses  transformed  into  rustics 
by  the  magic  wand  in  the  fairy-tales  had  come  to  he  models  for  his  pictures, 
rather  than  the  fat-cheeked  lasses  whose  skin  is  scorched  by  the  sun,  and  whose 
shoulders  are  accustomed  to  heavy  burdens.  But  having  made  this  reserve,  it 
must  he  acknowledged  that  M.  Bouguereau’s  children  are  delightful,  and  his 
composition  charming;  his  drawing  is  correct,  even  to  rigidity;  he  possesses  a 
gracefulness  and  a fecundity  of  invention  attested  by  the  immense  number  of 
his  pictures.  . . . 

To  sum  up  in  a few  words  our  impression  of  the  painter’s  characteristics, — 
whether  he  paints  mythological  subjects  or  rustic  scenes,  M.  Bouguereau  al- 

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BOUGUEREAU 


3 1 

ways  exhibits  three  qualities  which  justify  his  reputation:  knowledge,  taste, 
and  refinement. 

C.H.STRANAHAN  ‘A  HISTORY  OF  FRENCH  PAINTING’ 

BOUGUEREAU  has  been  called  by  his  admirers  preeminently  the  painter 
ol  flesh.  Critics,  of  more  technical  leanings,  do  not  agree  with  this  enthu- 
siasm, it  should  be  said.  He  certainly  produces  in  flesh-painting  surfaces  so 
smooth  that  they  seem  waxed  or  enameled.  He  makes  “figures  in  faience.” 
. . . But  knowledge,  taste,  and  refinement  are  his  constant  qualities,  and 
from  these  he  derives  a constantly  serene  elegance  of  manner.  He  was  early 
imbued  with  the  value  of  the  classic  line  and  the  academic  figure,  and  his 
skill  in  composition  is  always  marked.  Many  of  his  compositions  are  delight- 
ful considered  as  pure  arabesques.  In  the  sharply  defined  differences  and  the 
hot  discussions  of  principles  maintained  during  his  early  years,  he  was  en- 
listed, through  the  influence  of  his  teacher  of  drawing  at  the  College  of  Pons, 
on  the  side  of  the  followers  of  Ingres  before  he  was  old  enough  to  judge  of  its 
merits.  . . . 

All  the  tendencies  of  his  art  instruction  had  prepared  him  to  follow  in  the 
direction  of  the  great  masters.  With  this  influence  he  combined  a decided 
taste  for  mythology,  shown  by  his  pictures  both  then  and  later.  But  at  the 
close  of  his  four  years’  pensionate  (1854)  he  produced  ‘Ihe  Body  of  St.  Ce- 
cilia borne  to  the  Catacombs.’  His  fame  dates  from  this.  It  is  now  in  the 
Luxembourg,  where  he  also  has  a ‘Birth  of  Venus,’  of  1879.  But  he  did  not 
touch  the  hearts  of  the  people  until  he  painted,  or  rather  conventionally  ideal- 
ized, the  country  characters  of  his  own  land  and  time.  His  treatment  of  these 
is  the  very  opposite  of  that  of  Millet:  he  introduces  elegance  into  his  render- 
ing even  of  a barefooted  peasant.  Imposing  line,  so  thoroughly  impressed 
upon  him  by  his  training,  dignity  of  bearing,  agreeable  disposition  of  masses, 
enter  into  all  his  renderings  of  these  subjects,  until  “they  seem  like  rustics 
transformed  into  princesses”  — for  it  is  woman  that  usually  forms  his  subject. 
But  this  execution  imposes  itself,  and  stands  between  the  characters  and  the 
observer.  1 his  treatment  renders  his  practice  somewhat  that  of  the  neo-grecs, 
familiar  in  incident,  classic  in  execution;  but  his  qualities  are  better  adapted 
to  less  realistic  subjects,  and  with  him,  as  with  Cabanel  and  others,  the  re- 
newal in  classic  forms  of  the  ideal  treatment  has  become,  instead  of  the  neo- 
grec,  the  more  formal  academic.  In  Bouguereau’s  works  it  maintains  high 
value.  His  composition  is  always  fine,  his  color  clear  and  fresh,  if  neither  rich 
nor  subtle,  his  drawing  “faultily  faultless”  — “despairingly  perfect,”  sigh  his 
fellow-artists,  who  nevertheless  distrust  its  finish  as  being  for  finish’s  sake. 
And  in  sentiment  his  figures  are  so  placid  and  sincerely  destitute  of  feeling 
hat  he  has  often  been  accused  of  painting  the  merely  pretty.  However,  it  is 
not  the  trivial,  and  his  pictures  always  possess  the  charm  of  that  elegance 
which  invariably  confers  true  distinction.  . . . 

Bouguereau  was  early  a successful  decorator.  On  his  return  from  the  Villa 
Medici  in  1854  he  decorated  the  drawing-room  of  M.  Bartoloni,  then  the 
Hotel  Pereire,  and  the  churches  of  St.  Clotilde  and  St.  Augustin.  He  follows 

[409] 


32 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


out  all  his  aptitudes  in  art  with  assiduity,  and  thus  has  acquired  a wonderful 
success.  So  great  is  this  that  he  may  be  said  to  hold  the  public  in  allegiance  to 
a style  it  was  turning  from,  to  the  classic  practice  it  was  condemning,  and  to 
stay  it  in  its  haste  to  pay  fealty  to  the  impressionists  and  the  realists.  The 
honors  which  are  loaded  upon  him,  while  he  serenely  upholds  the  banner  of 
the  classicists,  prove  that  the  age  still  has  appreciation  for  the  historical  and 
academic  style.  He  is  member  and  president  of  the  Academy  of  Painting  of 
the  Institute,  and,  in  1885,  owing  to  that  section  having  its  turn  in  precedence, 
became  president  of  the  entire  Institute.  This  appreciation  is  also  attested  by 
the  statement  of  publishers  that  he  is  a “ porte-bonbeur,”  or  charm  of  success, 
that  they  earnestly  seek  to  secure  for  their  illustrated  works. 

CARROLL  BECKWITH  ‘THE  COSMOPOLITAN’  1890 

IT  is  perhaps  in  his  treatment  of  form  that  Bouguereau  finds  his  most  intelli- 
gent admirers,  as  it  is  generally  conceded  to  be  his  greatest  excellence.  It  is 
obvious  from  his  work  that  he  has  applied  himself  with  unremitting  devotion 
to  the  study  of  form  in  the  human  figure,  as  exemplified  by  grace  of  line  and 
extreme  charm  of  proportion.  His  treatment  of  the  delicate  loveliness  of  chil- 
dren is  unrivalled.  . . . 

No  detail  is  unworthy  of  his  careful  and  intelligent  attention,  each  accessory 
being  as  completely  studied  before  its  execution  upon  the  final  canvas  as  the 
most  important  figure.  In  the  drawing  of  hands  and  feet  the  observer  is  ever 
reminded  of  the  masterly  study  which  must  have  preceded  such  results.  His 
range  of  subjects  has  embraced  both  Christian  and  pagan  history,  together 
with  many  flights  of  pure  ideal  fancy,  and  often  a rendering  of  Italian  or 
French  peasant  life,  imbued  with  a decorative  and  poetic  character  which 
strongly  appealed  to  the  painter.  In  this  latter  class  of  work  it  is  often  impos- 
sible to  detect  the  reality  or  local  color  of  the  spot  chosen,  owing  to  the  impress 
of  sentiment  brought  to  bear  upon  it. 

Few  men  have  been  able  to  maintain  such  a continuous,  uninterrupted  ca- 
reer of  even  production.  Few  poets  or  painters  possess  so  patient  a muse.  Pe- 
riods of  change  in  temperament  or  transitions  of  thought  make  radical  changes 
in  manner  of  work  or  choice  of  subjects;  as  for  example  the  earlier  manner  of 
Raphael  or  Velasquez,  differing  completely  from  that  of  their  later  works. 
Not  so  with  M.  Bouguereau.  The  evenness  and  continuance  of  his  style  have 
been  remarkable.  I do  not  wish  to  imply  that  differences  of  merit  do  not  exist 
in  his  work,  for,  indeed,  these  differences  have  on  several  occasions  been  most 
pronounced. 

In  most  of  his  pictures  I am  impressed  by  the  great  beauty  of  drawing- — - 
above  all,  in  the  extremities.  The  hands  and  feet  are  marvels  of  grace  and 
proportion,  while  the  movements  of  the  figures  and  the  unity  of  the  composi- 
tions show  a scholarly  science  and  poetic  discernment  in  which,  possibly,  his 
only  rival  was  his  friend  and  schoolmate  Cabanel. 

As  to  technical  execution  there  is  little  to  say.  It  is  marked  by  uniform  com- 
pleteness and  great  delicacy.  His  style  is  simple  and  direct.  Tones  are  ob- 
tained without  over-painting  or  glaze.  No  attempt  is  made  at  extreme  rich- 

1410] 


BOUGUEREAU 


33 


ness  or  quality.  That  which  expresses  in  the  simplest  and  clearest  manner 
his  idea  is  the  method  employed.  No  ardor  of  feeling  entrances  him  and  leads 
him  away  from  the  even  poise  of  his  deliberate  purpose.  The  intensity  of  re- 
search in  color  or  light  is  without  the  pale  of  his  self-imposed  precision. 

The  spirit  of  the  severe  classic  detail  is  too  cold  and  abstract  for  Bouguer- 
eau’s  more  amiable  artistic  nature.  Le  juste  milieu , among  extremes  of  tem- 
perament and  method,  is  the  course  of  this  able  master.  Here  may  lie  the  se- 
cret of  his  great  popularity.  The  public  does  not  like  the  jar  and  shock  of 
temperaments  like  Tintoretto  or  Courbet.  A suave  and  graceful  style,  so 
harmoniously  attuned  to  popular  thought  that  insensibly  it  elevates  to  an  at- 
mosphere not  cold  enough  to  give  a chill,  yet  above  the  commonplace,  im- 
proves public  taste  and  gains  many  warm  adherents.  The  scholarly  choice  of 
nearly  all  of  his  subjects,  and  the  delicate  ideality  of  their  rendering,  have  ap- 
pealed to  the  cultured  classes  of  all  lands.  The  art  of  both  Bouguereau  and 
Cabanel  has  had  a strong;  influence  on  the  modern  French  school.  Arriving 
at  the  summit  of  their  fame  in  early  years,  they  have  been  examples  of  both 
professional  and  pecuniary  prosperity  which  have  inspired  many  followers. 
Yet  it  is  surprising  to  see  how  few  obtain  similar  successes. 

MARIUS  VACHON  <W.  BOUGUEREAU1 

PORTRAITS  hold  a considerable  place  among  the  works  of  Bouguereau. 

Often  divided  in  their  opinions  of  his  religious,  mythologic,  and  genre  pic- 
tures, critics  have  nearly  always  been  unanimous  in  praise  of  his  portraits. 
Classicists  and  romanticists,  reactionaries  and  innovators,  all  have  praised 
without  reserve  the  qualities  of  drawing,  of  color,  the  power  of  expression.  . . . 

Few  artists  of  our  time  have  represented  childhood  with  more  tenderness, 
charm,  and  spirit  than  W.  Bouguereau.  To  portray  the  naivete,  the  malice, 
the  smiles  or  the  caresses,  of  these  dear  little  ones,  to  express  the  rose  and 
white  flesh  tones,  the  curly  hair,  the  attitudes,  the  gestures,  so  simple,  so  in- 
genuous, so  graceful,  he  has  invented  the  most  picturesque,  the  most  pleasing, 
the  most  original  scenes,  of  an  almost  endless  variety.  . . . 

In  his  religious  pictures,  as  in  those  of  mythology  and  of  fancy,  feminine 
beauty  is  the  permanent  ideal  of  the  artist.  His  Madonnas  and  his  saints  are 
sisters  of  his  nymphs  and  his  goddesses;  his  angels  are  brothers  of  his  Loves. 
Following  the  example  of  the  masters,  from  Phidias  to  Raphael,  for  whom  the 
expression  of  beauty  was  the  purest  homage  rendered  by  the  creature  to  the 
Divine,  and  the  most  delicate  joy  given  to  mankind,  he  has  always  shown  in 
his  Virgins  the  glorification  of  Woman  and  Child,  and  his  constant  concern 
was  to  give  them  the  greatest  of  nobleness,  of  charm,  and  of  serenity. 

In  the  religious  works  of  Bouguereau  a special  type  of  Madonna  dominates, 
— that  of  a woman  grave  and  sad,  with  large  eyes  half  covered  by  drooping 
lids  or  lost  in  the  vague  of  a mysterious  contemplation.  The  figure  is  en- 
veloped in  loose  garments  with  severe  folds,  the  head  covered  by  a thick  veil 
allowing  no  view  of  hair  or  breast.  But  in  most  of  the  compositions  where 
this  type  figures,  the  artist  has  opposed  to  this  melancholy  the  smiling  visages 
of  angels  with  golden  hair  falling  on  their  shoulders,  clothed  in  robes  of  azure 

[411] 


34 


MASTERS  I N ART 


and  of  rose,  whose  tender  regard  caresses  the  child  Jesus  like  a strain  of  celes- 
tial music.  These  seraphic  figures  with  which  he  has  filled  his  religious  pic- 
tures are  so  fresh,  so  delicate,  that  it  seems  as  if  Bouguereau  is  for  our  day  a 
sort  of  lay  Fra  Angelico,  living  in  a profound  retreat,  impenetrable  to  the  pro- 
saic agitations  of  the  world,  sheltered  from  the  brutal  realities,  and  whose 
calm  solitude  lets  him  bloom  freely,- — a candid  and  naive  imagination  in  an 
atmosphere  of  sweet  mysticism  where  all  is  clear,  tender,  and  happy.  — from 
THE  FRENCH 

W.C.  BROWNELL  ‘FRENCH  ART’ 

IT  is  a source  of  really  esthetic  satisfaction  to  see  everything  that  is  attempted 
as  well  done  as  it  is  in  the  works  of  such  painters  as  Bouguereau  and  Caba- 
nel.  Of  course  the  feeling  that  denies  them  large  importance  is  a legitimate 
one.  The  very  excellence  of  their  technique,  its  perfect  adaptedness  to  the 
motive  it  expresses,  is,  considering  the  insignificance  of  the  motive,  subject  for 
criticism;  inevitably  it  partakes  of  the  futility  of  its  subject-matter.  Of  course 
the  personal  value  of  the  man,  behind  any  plastic  expression,  is,  in  a sense, 
the  measure  of  the  expression  itself.  If  it  be  a mind  interested  in  “pouncet- 
box”  covers,  in  the  pictorial  setting  forth  of  themes  whose  illustration  most 
intimately  appeals  to  the  less  cultivated  and  more  rudimentary  appreciation 
of  fine  art, — as  indisputably  the  Madonnas  and  Charities  and  Oresteses  and 
Bacchus  Triumphs  of  M.  Bouguereau  do,- — one  may  very  well  dispense  him- 
self from  the  duty  of  admiring  its  productions.  Life  is  short,  and  more  im- 
portant things,  things  of  more  significant  import,  demand  attention.  The 
grounds  on  which  the  works  of  Bouguereau  and  Cabanel  are  admired  are  cer- 
tainly insufficient.  But  they  are  experts  in  their  sphere.  What  they  do  could 
hardly  be  better  done.  If  they  appeal  to  a bourgeois,  a Philistine  ideal  of  beauty, 
of  interest,  they  do  it  with  a perfection  that  is  pleasing  in  itself.  No  one  else 
does  it  half  so  well.  To  minds  to  which  they  appeal  at  all,  they  appeal  with 
the  force  of  finality;  for  these  they  create  as  well  as  illustrate  the  type  of  what 
is  admirable  and  lovely.  It  is  as  easy  to  account  for  their  popularity  as  it  is  to 
perceive  its  transitory  quality.  But  not  only  is  it  a mark  of  limitation  to  refuse 
all  interest  to  such  work  ...  in  the  painting  of  which  a vast  deal  of  technical 
expertness  is  enjoyably  evident,  and  which  in  every  respect  of  motive  and  ex- 
ecution is  far  above  similar  things  done  elsewhere  than  in  France;  it  is  a still 
greater  error  to  confound  such  painters  as  M.  Cabanel  and  M.  Bouguereau 
with  other  painters  whose  classic  temperament  has  been  subjected  to  the  uni- 
versal romantic  influence  equally  with  theirs,  but  whose  production  is  as  differ- 
ent from  theirs  as  is  that  of  the  thorough  and  pure  romanticists,  the  truly  poetic 
painters. 


[412] 


BOUGUEREAU 


35 


Cf)c  2i>orfcs  of  Bouguereau 

DESCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  PLATES 

‘THE  VIRGIN  OF  CONSOLATION’  PLATE  I 

IT  was  sometime  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife  that  Bouguereau  sent  to  the 
Salon  of  1877  the ‘Virgin  of  Consolation’  (La  Vierge  Consolatrice)  now  in 
the  Luxembourg  Gallery,  Paris.  “The  canvas  gained  a vital  success,  and  it 
has  never,”  says  M.  Sonolet,  “lost  its  early  popularity.  In  it  is  found  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Byzantine,  but  the  smooth,  fine  brush  of  Bouguereau  admirably 
suits  these  representations  of  sacred  or  symbolic  personages,  against  their  gold 
or  marble  backgrounds.  I11  this  canvas  the  Virgin,  seated  and  draped  in  red 
and  blue  according  to  ancient  custom,  is  lifting  her  hands,  which  are  spread 
open,  the  hierarchical  gesture  giving  her  a distinction  that  is  striking  in  its  im- 
pression of  solemn  peace. 

“The  mother  thrown  upon  the  knees  of  the  Virgin,  weeping  for  her  child, 
and  the  little  baby  figure  stretched  out  upon  the  marble  step  are  also  as  re- 
markable for  the  surety  of  the  drawing  as  for  the  superiority  of  the  modeling. 
It  is  a work  of  high  inspiration  and  of  irreproachable  execution.” 

Bouguereau  sold  this  composition  to  the  French  government  for  12,000 
francs,  having  previously  refused  more  than  double  that  sum  from  a private 
would-be  purchaser.  It  measures  twelve  feet  eleven  inches  high  by  ten  feet 
five  and  one  half  inches  wide. 

‘INNOCENCE’  PLATE  II 

BOUGUEREAU  was  never  happier  than  when  painting  such  subjects  as 
this,  with  its  graceful,  slender  maiden,  its  sleepy,  chubby  baby,  and  its 
wee  lamb.  His  detractors  call  these  ideal  pictures  of  his  too  pretty,  too  smooth, 
too  unreal.  But  all  have  admitted  his  impeccable  drawing,  his  grace  in  com- 
position, his  surety  of  handling. 

The  scene  represents  a young  girl  dressed  in  a semi-classic  style,  with  her 
mantle  falling  over  her  head  and  caught  up  about  her  waist.  Her  bare  foot 
shows  beneath  her  underskirt,  her  blouse  is  low  about  her  neck,  and  her  full 
sleeves  are  slipped  back,  showing  her  shapely  arm  almost  to  the  elbow.  Within 
her  arms,  a burden  whose  weight  she  apparently  scarcely  feels,  are  a nude  baby 
fast  asleep  and  a little  white  lamb  with  wide-open  regardful’ eye.  The  charm- 
ing fall  of  the  drapery  in  straight,  simple  folds,  the  easy,  natural  pose  of  the 
delicate,  slight,  girlish  form,  the  excellent  drawing  of  hands  and  feet,  — all 
these  are  attributes  found  over  and  over  again  in  the  Frenchman’s  works. 

‘GIRL  WITH  CHERRIES’  PLATE  III 

AVERY  roguish  bit  of  mischief  is  the  small  Brittany  maid  shown  sitting  on 
the  high  wall  with  her  spoil  of  cherries.  Back  of  the  wall  are  the  trees  and 
shrubs  of  a rich  garden,  a garden  whose  prototype  was  to  be  found  stretching 
out  from  Bouguereau’s  old  house  in  La  Rochelle.  It  was  into  this  garden  that 

[413] 


36 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


the  children  of  his  peasant  neighbors  were  beguiled  to  serve  as  models  for  the 
painter,  a task  which  they  enjoyed  as  much  as  the  “Patron”  himself.  The 
mothers  all  complained  that  M.  Bouguereau  spoiled  their  children,  and  the 
laughing  eyes  and  mouth  of  the  barefoot  tot  here  do  not  belie  the  accusation. 
Like  all  the  rest  of  his  genre  pictures,  this  one  of  the  little  cherry-gatherer  is  a 
transcription,  not  from  nature,  but  from  the  ideal  which  nature  had  suggested 
to  the  artist.  The  comparative  insignificance  of  his  actual  models  to  Bou- 
guereau is  indicated  by  a story  which  is  at  least  characteristic.  A visitor  to  his 
studio  surprised  him  romping  with  a curly-headed  cherub  of  a baby,  while  all 
about  on  the  floor  were  sheets  of  exquisite  drawings  of  bambini.  Laughing, 
the  painter  explained  that  the  small  rascal  dancing  wildly  about  was  such  a 
“ mauvais  sujet”  that  he  had  had  to  go  to  the  Louvre  to  get  drawings  for  the 
picture  for  which  the  tot  was  supposed  to  be  posing!  “ I could  only  use  him  for 
the  color,”  he  added.  Even  the  color,  critics  have  remarked,  however,  is 
scarcely  the  color  which  the  sun  and  wind  of  Brittany  shores  would  produce. 

The  picture  was  painted  in  1897,  when  Bouguereau  was  over  seventy  years 
old.  The  handling  is  as  firm  and  clear  and  smooth  as  his  earliest  works. 

‘THE  HOLY  WOMEN  AT  THE  TOMB  OF  CHRIST*  PLATEIV 

THIS  picture,  showing  the  three  faithful  women  at  the  tomb  of  their  cruci- 
fied Master,  Bouguereau  finished  in  1890,  and  exhibited  that  year  at  the 
Salon  des  Champs-Elysees.  It  is  now  in  the  Antwerp  Museum. 

Before  a massive  stone  entrance  of  severely  classic  lines  the  three  heavily 
draped  women  are  gathered  in  awestruck  amaze.  The  one  at  the  right  is  kneel- 
ing beside  the  huge  rock  which  had  blocked  the  opening  but  is  now  rolled  quite 
away.  She  is  back  to  and  one  hand  rests  on  the  rock;  the  other  holds  a large 
vessel  against  her  side.  Next  her  is  the  second  woman,  also  kneeling,  her  face 
in  profile,  her  hands  clasped  at  her  neck,  her  gaze  riveted  upon  the  open  portal. 
Pressed  against  the  wall  of  stone,  beneath  the  square-cut  arch,  the  third  friend 
stands  upright,  motionless  as  the  rock,  her  eyes  too  fastened  upon  the  scene 
in  front.  There  before  them,  within  the  tomb  that  is  filled  with  a brilliant  light, 
stands  the  angel,  his  wings  stretching  far  up  above  his  head,  his  arms  lifted  as 
he  tells  the  wondrous  news. 

“Never,”  says  M.  Maurice  Albert,  “was  the  artist  more  serious,  more  des- 
perately impeccable.  Who,  then,  would  give  himself  the  useless  pain  of  trying 
to  find,  I do  not  say  a fault,  but  a hint  of  hesitation  in  the  drawing,  the  compo- 
sition, the  modeling  of  the  ‘Holy  Women  at  the  Tomb’  ? What  surety  of  hand 
and  what  serenity  of  soul!  What  a simply  severe  arrangement  of  figures,  and 
what  majestic  impassibility!  And  yet,”  he  goes  on  to  say,  “that  high  and 
mighty  door  of  masonic  architecture  would  .scarcely  represent  the  opening  to 
the  little  vault  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  that  funeral  chamber  which  imagina- 
tion aided  by  the  archaeological  discoveries  and  the  descriptions  of  M.  Renan 
shows  as  low  and  dark,  cut  under  a projecting  rock.  Nor,  in  the  three  women 
artistically  grouped,  who  are  such  well-trained  models,  and  whose  discreet 
tears  do  not  disfigure  their  calm  and  gracious  modern  faces,  can  one  recog- 
nize the  Galilean  women,  Mary  Magdalene,  Salome,  and  Mary  Cleophas.” 

[414] 


BOUGUEREAU 


37 


‘THE  MADONNA  WITH  ANCELS’  PLATE  V 

IT  has  been  said  of  Bouguereau  that  at  any  one  period  ot  his  artistic  career 
the  work  of  his  whole  lde  can  he  correctly  estimated  as  to  its  scope,  style, 
and  general  achievement.  In  other  words,  his  paintings  at  the  age  of  eighty,  of 
sixty,  of  forty,  of  twenty,  are  so  exactly  similar  in  design,  in  execution,  in  style, 
in  idea,  that,  without  the  date  generally  so  carefully  appended  by  the  painter 
himself,  the  most  acute  critic  might  as  easily  place  them  at  one  as  another  year. 
There  are  few  painters  of  whom  this  can  be  said.  Of  almost  all  it  is  true  that 
their  talent  grows  or  it  dwindles,  it  advances  from  height  to  height  or  it  falls 
lower  and  lower  into  desuetude.  Still  less  often,  probably,  can  it  be  claimed  of 
any  one  of  such  unceasing  enthusiasm  for  his  art,  of  such  continuous,  unend- 
ing industry,  as  Bouguereau  never  tailed  to  display.  Picot,  Bouguereau’s  first 
teacher  in  Paris,  is  undoubtedly  partly  responsible  for  this.  Easily  impression- 
able, with  practically  no  experience,  the  young  Rochellaise  adopted  the  the- 
ories and  ideals  of  his  new  teacher  with  all  his  understanding,  with  all  his  heart, 
and  with  all  his  imagination.  From  that  time  art  to  him  meant  one  thing  and 
one  thing  only:  the  expression  of  beauty  as  beauty  is  apprehended  by  the 
classicists.  No  later  experiences  ever  changed  either  his  ideal  or  his  manner 
of  interpreting  it.  Such,  probably,  fairly  explains  why  the  content  of  Bouguer- 
eau’s paintings  varied  so  little  from  decade  to  decade.  That  his  technique 
equally  was  so  unaltered  is  due  to  the  ease  with  which,  as  a mere  boy,  he  ac- 
quired his  dexterous,  smooth,  polished  handling  of  brush  and  pigment.  1 he 
method  was  so  admirably  adapted  to  his  ideals  that,  naturally,  the  passage  of 
years  never  tempted  him  to  change  it. 

‘The  Madonna  with  Angels,’  reproduced  in  plate  v,  painted  about  sixteen 
years  before  Bouguereau’s  death,  is  a fairly  typical  example.  In  subject  and 
in  treatment  it  might  as  well  have  been  executed  soon  after  his  return  from 
Rome  in  1854.  The  surety  of  drawing,  the  skill  of  brush-work,  the  smoothness 
of  surface,  the  very  scheme  of  color,  — all  were  as  inseparable  a part  of  his 
youth  as  they  were  of  his  old  age. 

The  Madonna  is  here  shown  standing  on  the  clouds  with  the  child  Jesus  in 
her  arms,  the  holy  pair  surrounded  by  the  adoring  figures  of  baby  angels.  The 
Mother  is  full  and  rather  heavily  draped,  her  eyes  are  downcast,  her  exquisite 
tapering  fingers  are  clasped  tight  about  her  precious  burden.  Jesus  himself  is 
nude,  his  little  arms  stretched  wide  as  if  in  blessing,  his  big  eyes  and  curving 
rose-leaf  lips  characteristic  of  the  infantChrists  created  by  Bouguereau’s  brush. 
Almost  as  pure  in  outline,  and  with  sweetly  reverent  faces,  are  the  little  angels 
kneeling  on  each  side,  their  wistful  regard  fixed  intently  on  the  Mother  and 
Child.  Their  chubby,  rounded  bodies  and  delicate  white  wings  are  painted 
with  all  the  ease,  with  all  the  softness  of  outline  and  the  clearness  of  color, 
which  are  so  integral  a part  of  the  Frenchman’s  art. 

‘CUPID  LYING  IN  WAIT’  PLATE  VI 

FROM  a certain  point  of  view  Bouguereau  had  a rather  extensive  choice  of 
subjects  for  his  pictures.  Religious  scenes  and  mythologic,  genre  and  por- 
traits, he  was  as  likely  to  paint  one  as  another.  But,  with  the  exception  of  the 

[415] 


38 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


last-named  class,  the  actual  contents  of  his  canvases  were  not  so  vastly  differ- 
ent one  from  another.  Whether  he  called  his  study  of  young  girlhood  ‘ Spring’ 
or  a ‘ Brittany  Peasant  Maid,’  there  was  slight  difference  in  the  type  displayed, 
and  his  round,  rosy,  dimpled  babies  were  much  the  same  whether  they  were 
little  St.  Johns,  or  angels,  cupids,  or  the  mother’s  first  born.  Perhaps  he  loved 
best  of  all  to  paint  these  babies  when  he  could  attach  soft,  white,  downy  wings 
to  their  pink-and-white  shoulders.  Then  he  called  them  little  Loves  or  cupids, 
and  over  their  rosebud  mouths  he  spread  a hint  of  roguish  malice  or  of  tanta- 
lizing delight.  % 

‘Cupid  lying  in  Wait’  (Amour  a 1’  affut),  here  reproduced,  he  painted  in 
1890.  He  is  all  alone,  the  little  mischief-maker,  sitting  quietly  on  a rocky  bank 
in  a forest  path.  But  he  evidently  is  expecting  somebody  before  long,  for  he  is 
just  placing  an  arrow  on  the  string  of  his  bow,  slyly  preparing  for  a victim 
whom  he  appears  already  to  see  in  the  distance.  His  full  quiver  lies  beside 
him,  and  one  is  quite  sure  there  is  no  hope  for  the  advancing  one — whoever 
she  may  be.  The  pose  of  the  rounded  little  body,  the  tip  of  the  head,  the  line 
of  the  baby-wings  just  edged  with  sunlight,  — all  these  are  charmingly  ren- 
dered, and  the  whole  picture  admirably  shows  Bouguereau’s  style  and  talent. 

‘THE  SHEPHERDESS’  PLATE  VII 

WHEN  Bouguereau  made  pictures  of  the  small  Brittany  girls  who  posed 
for  him  in  his  garden  at  La  Rochelle  he  called  the  completed  canvases 
Fisher  Maidens,  or  Little  Shepherdesses,  or  Little  Beggars,  as  the  mood  struck 
him  or  as  the  tiny  figure  suggested.  As  a rule  they  were  as  far  removed  from 
the  title  he  bestowed  upon  them  as  the  living  prototypes  were  from  their  pic- 
tured duplicates.  They  are  never  dressed  in  grand  clothes,  these  small  maid- 
ens of  the  country  lanes,  these  sturdy  daughters  of  the  Brittany  fisher-folk. 
Their  feet  are  always  bare,  their  clothes  are  the  simple  French  peasant  skirt 
and  blouse,  even  showing  here  and  there  a neat  patch  or  two.  But,  as  M. 
Sonolet  observes,  “they  have  the  feet  and  hands  of  duchesses.”  Their  skin  is 
too  soft  and  delicately  rosy,  their  curly  locks  might  have  just  come  from  the 
hands  of  a fashionable  hair-dresser.  Their  very  clothes,  in  spite  of  their  sim- 
plicity, have  an  immaculate  freshness  and  newness,  as  if  donned  for  the  first 
time,  — all  of  which  Bouguereau  himself  would  probably  have  quite  agreed 
with.  It  was  never  his  desire  to  paint  the  gay  little  peasant  lasses  exactly  as 
they  were,  with  the  soil  of  the  road  on  their  hastening  feet,  with  the  berry  or 
fish  stains  rubbed  into  their  aprons  and  skirts,  with  their  stubby,  grimy  hands 
and  tousled,  roughened  hair.  “He  never  tried,”  continues  M.  Sonolet,  “either 
exactly  to  represent  the  characters  before  him  or  to  reproduce  the  types  of  a 
certain  class.  He  made  for  himself  an  abstract  image  of  beautiful  forms,  com- 
pletely independent,  so  to  speak,  of  anything  that  could  affect  or  modify  it.  In 
his  way  of  rendering  nature  a considerable  part  of  it  is  purely  subjective.  He 
never  stops  with  things  exactly  as  they  are.  He  cannot  help  idealizing  all  he 
touches.” 

These  criticisms  are  entirely  applicable  to  this  panel  called  ‘1  he  Shepherd- 
ess’ (Bergere)  which  Bouguereau  painted  in  1887.  I he  small  girl  stands  lean- 

1416] 


BOUGUEREAU 


39 


ing  easily  and  gracefully  on  her  tall  staff,  while  the  sheep  graze  contentedly  in 
the  field  behind.  With  her  beautiful  large  eyes,  her  dark  wavy  hair,  her  hand- 
somely shaped  hands  and  arms,  she  is  such  a shepherdess,  surely,  as  no  Briton 
maid  of  the  fields  could  ever  hope  to  be.  But  like  all  Bouguereau’s  work, 
the  drawing,  the  construction,  and  the  composition  are,  as  the  French  critics 
say  often  so  complainingly,  “impeccable.” 

'BROTHER  AND  SISTER'  PLATE  VIII 

NOT  unlike  the  ‘Shepherdess’  (plate  vii)  in  type  is  the  young  Brittany 
peasant  maid  in  this  picture,  with  her  rather  straight  brows  over  large 
dark  eyes,  her  irregular  well-marked  nose  and  full  lips,  and  her  slightly  fleshy 
chin.  She  is  shown  sitting  on  a bank  at  the  edge  of  a forest,  clad  in  a short 
red  skirt  and  striped  apron,  white  waist,  and  the  large  white  Brittany  cap  and 
cape.  Her  arms  are  about  her  little  brother,  who  is  perched  on  her  knee,  his 
bare  legs  showing  beneath  his  blue  skirt,  each  of  his  chubby  hands  holding  a 
big  red  apple.  A red  cap  on  the  hack  of  his  head,  and  the  purple  sleeves  of 
his  waist,  add  to  the  bright  effect  of  the  color  scheme.  The  beautiful  tapering 
fingers  of  the  sister,  and  her  immaculate  if  simple  peasant  dress,  the  waxily 
perfect  bare  feet  of  both  of  them, — all  are  characteristic  of  Bouguereau,  who 
when  he  painted  the  children  of  his  peasant  neighbors  at  La  Rochelle  appar- 
ently never  saw  the  grime  of  the  fields,  the  soil  of  the  roadside,  that  must 
have  left  their  traces  on  both  clothes  and  body. 

The  canvas  was  bequeathed  to  the  Metropolitan  Art  Museum  of  New  York, 
in  1887,  by  Miss  Katharine  Lonllard  Wolfe.  It  was  painted  by  Bouguereau  in 
1871,  and  measures  four  feet  two  inches  high  by  almost  three  feet  wide. 

‘SONGS  OF  SPRING’  PLATE  IX 

WITH  the  blossoming  forest  behind  her  and  with  flowering  vines  at  her 
feet,  the  dark-haired  maiden  in  this  picture  sits  with  parted,  smiling  lips, 
her  eyes  wide  and  wistful,  listening  to  the  whispers  of  the  two  little  Loves.  She 
holds  a branch  of  apple-hlossoms  across  her  lap,  while  her  chin  rests  on  the 
back  of  her  right  hand,  her  elhow  on  her  knee.  Her  drapery  is  conventional,  of 
the  Greek  order  of  flowing  lines  and  folds,  showing  her  bare  arms  and  a bit  of 
her  white  throat.  The  two  little  white-winged  Loves  who  are  poised  just  above 
the  grass,  one  on  each  side  of  her,  are  typical  Bouguereau  babies,  with  their 
rounded  arms,  their  pink-and-white  flesh,  their  curly  golden  hair.  Each  one 
is  intent  upon  his  work  of  whispering  all  the  mysteries  of  spring  he  knows  into 
the  willing  ear  of  the  maiden. 

Because  of  their  open  frank  little  faces,  their  ingenuous  gestures,  and  their 
exquisite  little  limbs,  certain  French  critics  as  well  as  the  general  public  have 
been  captivated  by  the  baby  angels  and  baby  Loves  depicted  by  Bouguereau. 
They  have  been  compared  by  certain  writers  to  the  bambini  of  Raphael  and 
Andrea  del  Sarto. 

The  subject  of  this  picture  was  a favorite  with  the  French  painter, — this  of 
fair  maid  and  softly  modeled  infant  forms,  — and  he  lias  made  many  varia- 
tions upon  it. 


[417] 


40 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


‘THE  TRIUMPH  OF  MARTYRDOM’  PLATE  X 

THIS  picture,  which  is  now  in  the  Luxembourg  Gallery,  Paris,  was  Bou- 
guereau’s  last  work  while  still  a student  in  the  French  Academy  at  Rome. 
It  was  exhibited  at  the  Salon  in  Paris  in  1854,  and  from  that  day  the  young 
painter’s  triumph  was  assured. 

St.  Cecilia,  whose  entombment  in  the  catacombs  is  the  subject  of  the  com- 
position, was  a Roman  maiden  living  in  the  third  century.  Her  parents  had 
secretly  become  Christians,  and  from  her  earliest  youth  she  was  devoted  to 
the  religious  life.  Through  her  influence,  her  husband,  a rich  Roman  noble  to 
whom  she  was  married  when  only  sixteen,  also  became  a Christian,  and  so 
long  as  they  lived  they  devoted  their  time,  money,  and  strength  to  the  help  of 
the  poor  and  suffering.  Both  he  and  she  were  put  to  a martyr’s  death  by  orders 
of  the  prefect  Almachius.  St.  Cecilia  is  the  patron  saint  of  music,  and  she  is 
said  to  have  invented  the  organ.  So  sweet  were  her  songs,  continues  the  legend, 
that  angels  came  to  listen  to  her. 

The  moment  depicted  shows  the  white-robed  figure  of  the  fair  young  martyr 
borne  in  the  arms  of  some  of  the  faithful  into  the  underground  vaulted  cham- 
bers, where  she  was  to  be  laid  beside  her  husband.  Men  and  women  in  the 
conventional  long  robes  and  cloaks  of  the  Rome  of  the  day  are  gathered  about, 
some  on  their  knees,  some  standing.  One  man  is  prostrate,  thrown  forward 
on  the  step  below  her,  and  a young  mother  beside  him  holds  her  baby  up  to  be 
blessed  by  the  sight  of  the  beautiful  dead  saint.  At  the  right,  the  man  who 
holds  a torch  in  his  left  hand  while  he  points  to  the  body  with  his  right  is  a 
portrait  of  the  painter  Henri  Regnault. 

“St.  Cecilia,”  says  M.  Marcel,  “is  Bouguereau’s  best  work  in  firmness  of 
drawing  and  strength  of  tone.”  M.  Jahyer  writes  of  it  that,  “full  of  devotion, 
it  was  one  of  the  best  pictures  ever  sent  from  the  Villa  Medici.  It  contained 
more  than  hope.  Already  in  it  could  be  discerned  an  artistic  temperament  not 
alone  vigorous  and  striking,  but  solid,  sure  of  itself,  and  of  an  exquisite  del- 
icacy. The  subject  was  well  chosen  and  adapts  itself  admirably  to  painting. 

. . . The  types  are  elevated,  the  figures  distinguished.  The  figures  who  hold 
the  principal  places  are  not  merely  conventional  accessories.  They  are  all  nec- 
essary to  the  composition  and  express  an  ardent  devotion.  The  execution  is 
already  easy,  the  drawing  correct,  the  painting  frank,  with  no  overloading  of 
colors  or  glazes  — one  touch  had  been  enough  to  give  the  needed  effect.  I he 
tone  of  the  whites  is  particularly  remarkable.” 

The  picture  measures  ten  feet  five  and  a half  inches  high  by  twelve  feet 
eleven  inches  wide. 

A LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  PAINTINGS  BY  BOUGUEREAU 
IN  PUBLIC  COLLECTIONS 

THIS  list  includes  only  the  more  important  pictures  in  collections  which  are  accessible 
to  the  public.  The  large  majority  of  Bouguereau’s  works  (which,  excluding  his 
mural  decorations,  number  nearly  five  hundred)  are  in  private  collections,  and  are  not  only 
difficult  to  trace,  but  are  constantly  changing  hands.  M.  Marius  Vachon  in  his  mono- 
graph on  Bouguereau  gives  the  titles  of  all  the  painter's  compositions. 

[418] 


BOUGUEREAU 


41 


BELGIUM.  Antwerp  Museum:  The  Holy  Women  at  the  Tomb  of  Christ  (Plate 
iv);  Portrait  of  Bouguereau  (see  page  400) — Ghent  Museum:  Bather  — Loo, 
Royal  Chateau:  Merchant  of  Pomegranates  — ENGLAND.  Birmingham  Art  Gal- 
lery: Charity  — FRANCE.  Bordeaux  Museum:  All  Souls’  Day;  A Bacchante  teasing 
a Goat  — Bordeaux,  Grand-Theatre,  Concert  Hall:  (mural  decoration)  [ceiling] 
Apollo  and  the  Muses  singing  before  the  Gods  on  Olympus;  Allegorical  figures  represent- 
ing Military  Music,  Pastoral  Music,  Lyric  Music,  Religious  Music;  Genii  carrying  In- 
struments of  Music;  (medallions)  Portraits  of  Meyerbeer,  Rossini,  Halevy,  Auber,  Bee- 
thoven, Mozart,  Gretry,  Gluck,  Weber,  Haydn,  Boieldieu,  Herold,  Ride,  Garat — Dijon 
Museum:  Copy  of  Raphael’s  Galatea;  Return  of  Tobias  — La  Rochelle  Museum: 
Ulysses  recognized  by  his  Foster-mother  on  his  return  to  Troy;  Portrait  of  Mile.  Lanusse; 
Portrait  of  Mme.  Lanusse;  Portrait  of  M.  Lanusse  — La  Rochelle  Cathedral,  Chapel 
of  the  Virgin:  [ceiling]  Assumption;  [six  arches]  Visitation,  Annunciation,  Nativity, 
Flight  into  Egypt,  Fainting  of  Virgin,  Pieta — -La  Rochelle,  Mme.  Moulun’s  Res- 
idence: (mural  decoration)  Four  Seasons  — Paris,  Luxembourg  Gallery:  Virgin  of 
Consolation  (Plate  1);  Philomela  and  Procne;  Youth  and  Love;  Birth  of  Venus;  The 
Triumph  of  Martyrdom  (Plate  x)  — Paris,  Bartholoni  Mansion:  (mural  decorations) 
[ceiling]  Allegory  of  Music;  [ceiling]  History  of  Cupid  and  Psyche;  (panels)  Muses; 
The  Ode;  Song;  History  and  Astronomy ; Dance  and  Music;  Tragedy  and  Comedy;  Po- 
etry and  Elegance;  Love  demanding  his  Arms;  Love  Chastised — -Paris,  Mansion  of 
Bartholoni,  Junior:  (mural  decorations)  [ceiling]  Two  allegorical  figures;  (panels) 
Fortune,  Friendship,  Love,  Arion  upon  a Dolphin,  Bacchante  upon  a Panther;  Scenes  of 
Autumn  and  Scenes  of  Spring  — Paris,  Pereire  Mansion  : (mural  decorations)  [ceiling] 
Day  and  Night;  Four  Seasons;  [arches]  Flora,  Ceres,  Pomona,  Vesta;  (medallions) 
Spring,  Summer,  Autumn,  Winter  — Paris,  Church  of  Ste.  Clotilde,  Chapel  of 
St.  Louis:  (panels)  St.  Louis  as  Judge,  St.  Louis  bringing  the  Crown  of  Thorns  to 
Paris,  St.  Louis  aiding  the  Plague-stricken;  Last  Communion  of  St.  Paul;  Faith;  Hope; 
Charity;  Temperance;  Justice;  Prudence — Paris,  Church  of  St.  Augustine,  Chapel 
of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul:  (panels)  St.  Peter  baptizing  a Catechumen;  St.  Paul  teach- 
ing the  Christian  doctrine  to  a Young  Woman  and  a Man;  The  Two  Apostles  before  an 
Altar  in  Act  of  Blessing;  [Chapel  of  St.  John  the  Baptist]  Preaching  of  St.  John  in 
the-Desert;  Baptism  of  Jesus;  Herodius  receiving  Head  of  Baptist— Paris,  Church  of 
St.  Vincent-de-Paul,  Chapel  of  the  Virgin:  (panels)  Marriage  of  the  Virgin;  An- 
nunciation; Visitation;  Adoration  of  Shepherds;  Adoration  of  Kings;  Flight  into  Egypt; 
Jesus  meeting  his  Mother  on  Road  to  Calvary;  Christ  on  Cross  — Paris,  Imperial 
Printing-office:  Illustration  of  the  Testament  according  to  St.  Luke  — Paris,  Minis- 
try of  State:  Visit  of  Emperor  Napoleon  to  the  Flooded  Inhabitants  of  Tarascon  — 
Paris,  Palace  of  the  Tuileries:  Holy  Family — HOLLAND.  The  Hague,  Gal- 
lery of  the  Royal  Palace:  After  the  Bath  — ITALY.  Florence,  Uffizi  Gallery : 
Portrait  of  the  Artist  — UNITED  STATES.  Chicago,  Art  Institute  : Two  Bathers; 
Girl  of  Granada  — Cincinnati  Museum:  Girl  eating  Porridge  — New  York,  Metro- 
politan Museum:  Brother  and  Sister  (Plate  vm)  — New  York,  Hoffman  House: 
Nymphs  and  Satyrs  — Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania  Academy:  Orestes  pursued  by  the 
Furies. 


9Sottgumau  Bthltograpljp 

A LIST  OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  BOOKS  AND  MAGAZINE  ARTICLES 
DEALING  WITH  BOUGUEREAU 

ABOUT,  E.  Le  Decameron  du  Salon  de  Pelnture.  Paris,  i 8 8 i — Beneditf.,  L.  Le 
. M usee  national  du  Luxembourg.  Paris  [1896-98] — Brownell,  W.  C.  French 
Art.  New  York,  1901 — Cyclopedia  of  Painters  and  Paintings  (edited  by  J.  D. 

[419] 


42 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


Champlin).  New  York,  1886  — Chaumelin,  M.  L’Art  contemporain.  Paris,  1873 — - 
Cook,  C.  Art  and  Artists  of  Our  Time.  New  York  [1886]  — Gautier,  T.  Abece- 
daire  du  Salon  de  1861.  Paris,  1861  — Hamerton,  P.  G.  Painting  in  France  after  the 
Decline  of  Classicism.  London,  1869  — Houssaye,  H.  L’Art  frantjais  depuis  dix  ans. 
Paris,  1883 — -Jahyer,  F.  Les  chefs-d’oeuvre  d’art  au  Luxembourg.  Paris,  1881  — 
Kingsley,  R.  G.  A History  of  French  Art.  London,  1899  — Lafenestre,  G.  Dix 
annees  du  Salon.  Paris,  1888  — Marcel,  H.  La  peinture  franchise  au  XIXe  siecle. 
Paris  [1905]  — Mauclair,  M.  The  Great  French  Painters.  London,  1903  — Meyer,  J. 
Geschichte  der  modernen  franzosischen  Malerei.  Leipsic,  1866  — Montaiglon,  A.  de. 
Salon  de  1875.  Paris,  1875 — Montrosier,  E.  Les  artistes  modernes.  Paris,  1882  — 
Muther,  R.  History  of  Modern  Painting.  New  York,  1896  — Nouveau  Larousse 
(edited  under  the  direction  of  Claude  Ange).  A.  W.  Bouguereau.  Paris  [1899]  — 
Strahan,  E.  (Editor).  The  Art  Treasures  of  America.  Philadelphia  [1880]  — 
Stranahan,  C.  H.  A History  of  French  Painting.  New  York,  1S88  — Vachon,  M. 
W.  Bouguereau.  Paris,  1900  — Viardot,  L.,  and  others.  Masterpieces  of  French 
Art.  Philadelphia,  1883. 


IT  AMATEUR,  1880:  Ameiican  Art  Galleries — Boston  Evening  Transcript, 


1905:  A.  S.  Schmidt;  Adolphe  Bouguereau  — Brush  and  Pencil,  1905:  The  Art 
of  Adolphe  William  Bouguereau — Cosmopolitan,  1890:  C.  Beckwith;  Bouguereau  — 
Gazette  des  Beaux-Arts,  1859:  P.  Mantz;  Le  Salon  de  1859.  1861:  L.  Lagrange; 

Salon  de  1861.  1865:  P.  Mantz;  Salon  de  1865.  1867:  P.  Mantz;  Salon  de  1867. 

1870:  R.  Menard ; Salon  dei870.  1873:6.  Lafenestre;  Salon  dei873-  i874:L.  Gonze; 

Salon  de  1874.  1876:6.  Yriarte;  Le  Salon  de  1876.  1 877 : Duranty;  Reflexions  d’un 

bourgeois  sur  le  Salon.  1880:  Ph.  de  Chennevieres;  Le  Salon  de  1880.  1881:  J.  Buisson; 
Le  Salon  de  1881.  1883:  C.  Bigot;  Le  Salon  de  1883.  1885:  M.  Andre;  Le  Salon  de 

1 S 8 5 . 1890:  M.  Albert;  Le  Salon  des  Champs-Elysees — -Les  Arts,  1906:  William 

Bouguereau — Portfolio,  1875:  R.  Menard;  Bouguereau  — Revue  des  Charentes, 
1905:  L.  Sonolet;  William  Bouguereau  — Scribner’s  Magazine,  1905:  Frank  Fowler; 
The  Lesson  of  Bouguereau  — Zeitschrift  fur  Bildende  Kunst,  1893:  C.  v.  Liitzow; 
Zur  Charakteristik  Bouguereau’ s. 


magazine  articles 


[ 420] 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


Special  Notice 

To  Readers  of  Masters  in  Art 

AFTER  long  experimenting  we  have  perfected  a process  for  making  large  size  re- 
productions of  paintings,  possessing  all  the  qualities  of  the  finest  carbon  photo- 
graphs. We  desire  to  introduce  this  process  by  reproducing  at  large  scale,  suitable  for 
framing,  ten  of  the  greatest  masterpieces  of  painting.  Of  the  process  we  now  have 
complete  command,  but  the  selection  of  subjects  is  a difficult  problem.  We  have, 
therefore,  decided  to  ask  our  readers  to  help  us,  by  sending  a list  of  what,  to  their  minds, 
are  the  ten  greatest  paintings.  From  several  thousand  lists  made  out  by  intelligent  stu- 
dents of  art  it  should  not  be  difficult  to  select  the  ten  pictures  which,  from  consensus 
of  opinion,  are  the  greatest.  To  add  to  the  interest  in  making  such  selection,  we  have 
decided  to  present  sets  of  the  pictures  to  the  one  hundred  readers  whose  judgment  has 
been  the  best,  and  whose  lists  come  the  nearest  to  the  final  selection.  Please  fill  out 
the  blank  form  below,  not  forgetting  your  name  and  address,  and  mail  at  your  very 
earliest  convenience. 

BATES  & GUILD  COMPANY,  Publishers 

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SET  A 
Phidias 
T intoretto 
Greuze 
Lotto 
Landseer 
Vermeer  of  Delft 
Pintoricchio 
Copley 

Vigee  Le  Brun 
Palma  Vecchio 


SET  B 
Mantegna 
Chardin 

BenozzoGozzoli 
Jan  Steen 
Memlinc 
Durer  (Engrav.) 
Pieter  de  Hooch 
Luini 

Claude  Lorrain 
Barye 


SET  C 
Della  Robbia 
Del  Sarto 
Ter  Borch 
Praxiteles 
Nattier 
Giorgione 
De  Chavannes 
Donatello 
V eronese 
Giotto 


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K'>5«ifsitIllu5trattiifllonoflrapl)s 


The  remaining  artist  to  be 

considered  during  the  current. 

1906,  Volume  is  Francia.  The  numbers  of  4 Masters  in  Art’ 

which  have  already  appeared  in 

1906  are  : 

Paut  73,  January 

STUART 

Part  74,  FEBRUARY 

DAVID 

Part  75,  MARCH 

BOCKLIN 

Part  76,  APRIL 

SO  DOM  A 

Part  77,  MAY  . 

CONSTABLE 

Part  78,  JUNE  . 

METSU 

Part  79,  JULY 

INGRES 

Part  80,  AUGUST  . 

WILKIE 

Part  81,  SEPTEMBER  . 

. (I  H I R LAN  DA  JO 

Part  82,  OCTOBER 

. BOUGUEREAU 

PART  83,  THE  ISSUE  FOR 

WILL  TREAT  OF 

©I 

>9« 

NUMBERS  ISSUED  lb 

PREVIOUS  VOLUMES 

OF  ‘MASTERS  IN  ART’ 

VOL.  1. 

VOL.  2. 

Part  1,  VAN  DYCK 

Pari  13,  RUBENS 

Pari  2,  TITIAN 

Part  14,  DA  VINCI 

Part  3,  VELASQUEZ 

Pari  15,  DURER 

Part  4,  HOLBEIN 

Part  16,  MICHELANGELO* 

Part  5,  BOTTICELLI 

Pari  1 7,  M 1 C H E L A NGELO  f 

Part  6,  REMBRANDT 

Part  18,  CORO  1 

Part  7,  REYNOLDS 

Part  19,  BURNE-JONES 

Part  8,  MILLET 

Part  20,  PER  BORCH 

Par  1 9,  G IO.  BELLINI 

Pari-  21,  DELLA  ROBBIA 

Part  10,  MURILLO 

Part  22,  DEL  SARTO 

Pari  11,  H ALS 

Part  23,  GAINSBOROUGH 

Part  12,  RAPHAEL 

Part  24,  CORREGGIO 

* Sculpture 

f Painting 

VOL.  3. 

VOL.  4. 

Part  25,  PHIDIAS 

Part  37,  ROMNEY 

Part  26,  PERUGINO 

Part  38,  FRA  ANGELICO 

Part  47,  HOLBEIN  ? 

Part  39,  WA  I THAU 

Part  28,  IT  NTORETTO 

Part  40,  RAPHAEL* 

Part  29,  P.  dhHOOCH 

Part  41,  DONATELLO 

Part  jo,  NATTIER 

Part  42,  GERARD  DOU 

Part  31,  PAUL  POTTER 

Part  43,  CARPACCIO 

Part  32,  GIOTTO 

Part  44,  ROSA  BONHEUR 

Part  33,  PRAXITELES 

Part  4^  GUIDO  REN1 

Part  34,  HOGARTH 

Part  46,  P.  dr.CH AVANNES 

Part  35,  TURNER 

Part  47,  GIORGIONE 

Part  36,  LUINI 

Part  48,  ROSSETTI 

l Drawing 

s * Frescos 

VOL.  5. 

VOL.  6. 

Part  40,  BARTOLOMMEO  Part  61,  WATTS 

Part  50,  GREUZE 

Part  64,  PAI.MA  VECCHIO 

Part  51,  DURER* 

Part6j,  VIGEE  LE  BRUN 

Part  54,  LOTTO 

Part  64,  MANTEGNA 

Part  53,  L A N D S E E R 

Part  65,  CHARDIN 

Part  54,  VERMEER 

Part 66,  BENOZZO 

Part  5;,  PINTORICCHIO 

PART67,  JA  N STEEN 

Part  56,  THE  VAN  EYCKS 

Part  68,  MEMLINC 

Part  57,  MEISSONIER 

Part  69,  CLAUDE 

Part  58,  BARYE 

Part  70,  VFRROCCHIO 

Part  59,  VERONESE 

Part  71,  RAEBURN 

Part  60,  COPLEY 

PART  74,  FILIPPO  LIPPI 

* Engravings 

ALL  THE  ABOVE  NAMED  ISSUES 
ARE  CONSTANTLY  KEPT  IN  STOCK 

Prices  on  and  after  January  1,  1906  : Single  numbers  of 
back  volumes,  10  cents  each.  Single  numbers  of  the  current  1906 
volume,  1 5 cents  each.  Bound  volumes  1 , z,  5,4,  5.  and  6,  contain- 
ing the  partslisted  above,  bound  in  brown  buckram,  with  gilt 
stamps  and  gilt  top,  $3.7;  each;  in  green  half  morocco,  gilt 
stamps  and  gilt  top,  $4.45  each. 


In  answering  advertisement,  please  mention  Maste  r.s  in  Art 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


F.  W.  KALDENBERC’S  SONS, 95  neITyork 

MANUFACTURERS  OF 

Fine  HIccmlisMisn  and  ISrisar  Pipes 

THIS  cut  represents  one  of  our  most  desirable  French  Briar  Pipes;  it  is 
“ Masterful”  in  every  respect.  Very  easily  cleaned  and  cannot  get  out  of 
order.  The  amber  is  simply  pushed  into  the  aperture  and  slightly  turned,  so  as 
to  wedge  it  in  position.  We  will  forward  this  prepaid,  delivery  guaranteed,  to 
any  part  of  the  world  on  receipt  of  One  Dollar,  which  is  one-half  the  regular 
value, __ or  the  same  pipe  in  finest  quality  of  Meerschaum,  including  a fine  leather 
$■4.00.  Catalogues  sent  on  application. 


BEST  FRENCH  BRIAR 


STERLING  SILVER  BAND 


AMBER  MOUTHPIECE 


THE  UNIVERSITY  PRINTS 

Are  the  only  reproductions 
published  in  inexpensive 
form  for  the  systematic  study 

pfMv  ' ~ ul 

of  Greek  and  Italian  Art. 

One  cent  each,  or  eighty 

cents  per  hundred.  Catalog 

on  request. 

Publishing  Department 

BUREAU  OF 

UNIVERSITY  TRAVEL 

18  Trinity  Place 

'ZL 

Boston,  Mass. 

NEW  SUBSCRIBERS 

TO 

JWastrrs  in  3tt 

Who  would  like  the  bound  volumes 
complete  from  the  beginning  are 
requested  to  write  for  our  offer  to 
supply  them  on  terms  of  small 
monthly  payments. 

BATES  & GUILD  COMPANY 


BRAUN’S 

CARBON 

PRINTS 


FINEST  AND  MOST  DURABLE 
IMPORTED  WORKS  OF  ART 


/ANE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  direct 
reproductions  from  the  original  paintings 
and  drawings  by  old  and  modern  masters  in  the 
galleries  of  Amsterdam,  Antwerp,  Berlin,  Dres- 
den, Florence,  Haarlem,  Hague,  London,  Ma- 
drid, Milan,  Paris,  St.  Petersburg,  Rome, 
Venice,  Vienna,  Windsor,  and  others. 


Special  Terms  to  Schools. 


BRAUN,  CLEMENT  & CO. 

256  Fifth  Ave.,  bet.  28th  and  2gth  Sts. 
NEW  YORK  CITY 


The  GREAT  PICTURE  LIGHT 


FRINK’S  PORTABLE 

PICTURE  REFLECTORS 


For  electric  light,  meet  all  requirements 
for  lighting  pictures.  Every  owner  of 
fine  paintings  could  use  one  or  more  of 
these  portable  reflectors  to  advantage. 
The  fact  that  so  many  have  ordered 
these  outfits  for  their  friends  is  proof 
that  their  merits  are  appreciated. 
Height,  closed,  51  inches;  extended,  81 
inches.  The  light  from  the  reflector  can 
be  directed  at  any  picture  in  the  room 
and  at  any  angle. 


Frink’s  PortablePictureReflector 
with  Telescope  Standard 

No.  7034,  brass,  polished  or  antique, 
with  plug  and  socket  for  electric 


lamp $27.50 

No.  7035,  black  iron,  with  plug  and 
socket  for  electric  lamp  . . $16.50 


Nos.  7034,  7035 
Pat.  Dec.  14,  ’97 


These  special  Reflectors  are  used  by 
all  the  picture-dealers  in  New  York, and 
by  private  collectors  not  only  in  this 
country,  but  in  Paris,  London,  Berlin, 
and  other  cities.  When  ordering,  kindly 
mention  the  system  of  electricity  used. 
Satisfaction  guaranteed.  Parties  order- 
ing these  Reflectors  need  not  hesitate 
to  return  them  at  our  expense  if  not 
found  satisfactory. 


I.  P.  FRINK,  551  Pearl  St.,  New  York  City 

GEO.  FRINK  SPENCER,  Manager 
Telephone„.86o  Franklin 


In  answering  advertisements,  please  mention  Masters  in  Art 


MASTERS  IN  ART 


EVERY  HOME  SHOULD  KNOW 
THE  BEAUTIFUL 


Perry  Pictures 

ONE  CENT  EACH 


In  lots  of  25  or  more;  1 20  for  $1.00.  There  are 
more  than  2,000  pictures  from  which  to  select. 

Each  picture  on  paper,  5 1-2x8. 

Send  two  two-cent  stamps  for  Illustrated  Catalogue 
of  1 ,000  small  pictures,  two  Regular  Size  pictures, 
and  a picture  in  three  colors,  or  send 


-c_  j 25  Art  Subjects,  or 

3 ‘ i 25  on  the  Life  of  Christ,  or 


$r  (a  beautiful  set  of  120  Art  Subjects 

i. 00  tor  k , r,  , J 

( no  two  alike,  or  send 

50c.  for  | 


( no  two  alike,  or  send 

1 1 Extra  Size  Pictures,  each  on 
paper. 


Aleutian 
Masters  in  A rt. 


Box  1 21,  MALDEN,  MASS. 


CEaxjcUjc  fjcncil  i?lictci)C0 


ByCHARLES  HERBERT 
WOODBURY 


Facsimile  reproductions,  full  size  of  the 
originals,  printed  on  cream  tinted  paper, 
I 1 x 14  inches,  and  suitable  for  framing. 

The  Boston  Transcript  says:  — 

No  one  equals  Mr.  Woodbury  in  his  knowl- 
edge of  how  to  use  with  best  effect  the  soft 
lead-pencil;  his  sketches  are  full  of  color,  of 
tone,  of  light;  they  are  thoroughly  artistic, 
and  nothing  that  we  have  seen  lately  ap- 
proaches them  for  quality. 

Set  of  Twelve,  sent  flat  . . $3.00 


BATES  & GUILD  CO. 

42  CHAUNCY  ST.,  BOSTON 


In  every  home  reached  by 

Masters  in  Art 

there  ought  to  be  some  one  enough 
interested  in  music  to  want 

Masters  in  M USIC 

In  plan  and  scope  it  is  identical  with  Masters 
in  Art.  No  musical  publication  has  ever  re- 
ceived more  unqualified  praise  from  the  critics, 
and  none  has  a stronger  hold  on  those  who 
appreciate  the  best  in  music.  Like  Masters 
in  Art,  the  accumulating  file  of  numbers 
forms  a reference  library  of  permanent  value 
and  unfailing  interest. 


c q secures  36  numbers,  comprising  1,152  pages 
***  ' **  newly  engraved,  beautifully  printed  classical 
music,  576  pages  of  reading-matter,  most  carefully  pre- 
pared, and  36  frontispiece  portraits. 

j cq  sent  now,  and  $1.00  a month  for  six 
^ ^ months,  secures  the  set,  26  parts  being  de- 

livered on  receipt  of  the  first  payment 


BATES  & GUILD  CO. 

BOSTON 


6 5 4 4 3 


In  answering  advertisements,  please  mention  Masters  in  Art 


GETTY  CE 

ND  55. 
c.  1 


min 

bks 


